How to Stand Alone for God This day the Lord will deliver you [Goliath] into my hand … that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel … for the battle is the Lords. —1 Samuel 17:46–47 What would you like to have written on your tombstone?32 After youve died, whenever people think of you, what do you want them to remember most about you? If God sent down an order to the monument company to write out an inscription to commemorate your life, what wording would He send? Wouldnt you love for Him to write an epitaph like Davids about you? Look again at the marker that captures his entire life in just nine words:33 When David had served Gods purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed (Acts 13:36 NIV). Acts 13:36 sums up what a servant is: David served Gods purpose for his life. He was God-hearted, which meant he had a loyal heart to serve the Lord. So when the life of the greatest recorded servant in the Bible ended, what was his legacy? (A legacy is what we leave behind to those we love.) What did David, Gods servant, leave behind? Davids legacy was this: he was willing to stand alone for Gods honor—regardless of the cost. And there were few more lonely spots in the history of the universe than the hillside of the Valley of Elah in the no mans land between the armies of Israel and of the Philistines. Havent we all wished we could have had a birds-eye-view of David and Goliaths titanic confrontation? If a typical screenwriter of today were to try to recapture this battle for a Hollywood movie, it would most likely be centered on one theme: a big bully harasses the scared underdogs but then one of the underdogs stands up to the big bully and slays him. Thus right wins out over might. However, that would be mans perspective and not Gods. To fully profit from the story of David and Goliath, we need to understand Gods eyewitness to one of the greatest moments in biblical history. It was an account unseen by all but David—when God defeated Goliath—the most visible representation of all God is not. In 1 Samuel 17, I believe we see the godliest characteristic of Davids life. If you were ever to emulate a quality in a mans personality, this would be it! David did something in that chapter most people dont catch because they focus on the main characters: David and Goliath. Hence the deeper truths of Scripture get obscured due to looking at the details and not the big picture—Gods perspective. Davids Purpose—Gods Glory It wasnt the Philistines, it wasnt the giant, and it wasnt the fear the Israelites felt. Nor was it the incompetence of the soldiers or the jealousy of Davids brothers. It wasnt any of those things—and it certainly wasnt little stones, a sling, a small stream, or the Valley of Elah. That is not what the story of David and Goliath is about: it primarily concerns Davids discovery of his entire purpose and motivation for life. Lets go back in our minds to the crisp, cool air of a Middle Eastern morning 3,000 years ago to recapture the events that comprised this momentous occasion in Davids life: The Background: Two callused feet slipped quietly out from under the warmth of a wool fleece and deftly into the sandals left carefully beside the low wooden cot. In the twilight of early mornings pre-dawn darkness, the possibly red-headed, teenaged-boy carefully crept out of the stone house on the outskirts of Bethlehem. With the confidence of integrity and the joy of purity—young David was on his way to a moment never to fade from the pages of history. Walking excitedly up and down the rocky paths in the hills of Judah, the young shepherd boy was headed to the Valley of Elah, a mere eight miles away. Arriving before breakfast, young David eagerly surveyed the eastern rim of the valley. Campfires and tents dotted the hillside as he looked at the army of Gods people, Israel. With a heart filled with gratitude and wonder, David strode up to the first tent and asked if anyone knew where his brothers from Bethlehem were camping. The special provisions his dad had sent them needed to be delivered, but they were only a part of Davids purpose in coming. David longed to see the people who stood for his God. But even more, he so loved the God of Israel that he wanted to see Him at work. For David had sung of his God on his long vigils around the hills of Bethlehem caring for his fathers sheep. In fact, in his favorite song from the hills where he sat day after day as a shepherd boy—he sang of the Lord Himself as being his Shepherd. And so, with that Psalm 23 heart, David came as Gods man for this very climactic moment in history! Ive actually had the joyful privilege of standing in that valley and preaching on 1 Samuel 17.34 The Valley of Elah is a broad plain, about a quarter mile wide, with a steep hill on both sides, and down the middle runs a very small stream. Up on one hill (like sheep grazing) were the massive armies of the Philistines; on the other side (like fearful little ants) was the Israelite army. Between the two enemies was sort of a battlefield upon which everyone had been focusing for forty days, morning and evening, as Goliath came forward and took his stand to taunt the terrified Israelites over and over again (1 Samuel 17:16). At this point, the stage had been set for God to reveal the young shepherds entire purpose and motivation for life. At his fathers request, David, full of enthusiasm and anticipation, trotted up the hill to deliver supplies for his brothers. The Big Picture: Suddenly, Davids talk with his brothers abruptly ended as a loud voice brimming with evil rumbled up the hillsides of that valley. In the distance Goliath, Gods enemy, encased in a pillar of armor, sprayed the venom of the ancient serpent from Eden across the faithless and frightened people of God. Standing just above the height of a basketball rim, Goliath was a full three feet taller than Michael Jordan. He easily weighed over 400 pounds and was dressed in layers of shining armor of bronze that weighed in at another 150-plus pounds. Then at the end of an eight-foot-long pole was a metal spear point that weighed about 20 pounds. Goliath was equipped with the latest military weaponry and was a horrifying sight, so they all ran from him in great fear. But young David had just heard for the first time this irreverent pagan reviling the God of Heaven—and he was shocked, grieved, and angered. Instantly, he wanted to stand for the honor of God at all costs. Unafraid, and with no concern for self, he embodied what God can do with all who think only of the Lord and not of themselves. David also heard the men of Israel saying, Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel (1 Samuel 17:25). He perceived that in essence they were saying, Look at that guy! Hes daring to defy us! The idea that Goliath was simply defying Israel is sheer human wisdom. David knew their human motivation for battling Goliath was self-serving: If I can just defeat that giant, look at all I can get out of this—the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his fathers house exemption from taxes in Israel (1 Samuel 17:25). Now look at the divine perspective where David got to the heart of the matter: David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? (1 Samuel 17:26). Pay close attention to what David was saying because he was the only person out of all Israel who really understood what was happening. He was looking way beyond what was seen on the surface. Davids view of this confrontation was from a divine perspective: Goliath wasnt taunting ISRAEL—but the LIVING GOD! Did you catch that? As the cowering army of Israel stood on their hillside looking down at this ten-foot-high evil monster, they concluded, Hes defying Israel! But this teenager courageously put them to shame when he said, Whats going to be done about this guy who is defying GOD? David had hit the nail on the head, so to speak. In the entire battle arena, only he had been offended on Gods behalf. Davids invincible motivation to honor the Lord clearly showed up in these verses: David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lords, and He will give you into our hands (1 Samuel 17:45–47). What a thrill it was to get to stand in that place and read those words! As I looked around, I could easily envision David as a short teenager looking up, up, up to the tip of Goliaths huge head! That would be like looking up at a basketball backboard as a little tyke when you can barely get the ball off the ground! So theres little David looking up ten feet in the air at the hoop (the huge Philistine who filled that space) and unflinchingly shouting: You big bully! I dont care if you have taunted the Israelites—theyve forgotten to Whom they belong, and where they are standing. If nobody else is concerned about Gods Name—Ill be! Why do you think the Lord vindicated David so greatly that day? Nobody else really understood what was going on in the Valley of Elah—only that young shepherd boy who had arrived on the scene at the last moment. Thus he definitely had command of the situation when he strode down that valley, fearlessly looked up into that ominous giants face, and boldly declared: I want the whole world to know that Israel has a Living and True God! Without a doubt, the events of that day are indelibly sketched in our hearts and minds: the shepherd lad, a handful of stones, a homemade weapon, and GOD—who made an unbeatable army of One. When David defeated the giant he became an instant and enduring hero of all the ages. Why? Because David had begun thirsting to intimately know and serve God when he was still a young shepherd lad. If we were to summarize Davids entire purpose and motivation for life, it shows up here in 1 Samuel 17: David was utterly concerned with Gods honor, not his own. amazon/Davids-Spiritual-Secret-Life-Serves-ebook/dp/B001Q3KB22/ref=la_B001K8Y0SE_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419162917&sr=1-18
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 11:56:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015